I have rather sensitive skin and am prone to ingrown hairs if I don't shave on a regular basis. I know (based on seeing other men on the trail) that most forgo shaving while on a hike, but I personally like to be clean shaven.

The other day I decided to look at my trail shaving kit and was rather shocked at the weight. I'm looking for some suggestions on lightening my shave kit.

Considering the above kit weighs more than my shelter you can probably understand why I wish to reduce the weight. I am kind of old school with my shaving kit and am not too familiar with the modern shaving stuff I see in the stores. I notice there are disposable cartridge razors made of plastic that seem much lighter but I've never used one before. I also notice they sell shaving cream in a can but I don't know how good it works or how long it will last and whether I can get a good shave from it.

I was hoping anybody that has used these more modern products can comment on the efficacy of them and if they think they would work well on the trail. Also, what would be your minimum items needed to shave on the trail?

You might see if an electric razor works for you. I've been using electric for decades now, so that is easy for me to say. Although I use a normal one for home, I have a tiny battery-operated razor for my air travel. We are talking about two ounces.

I don't shave on the trail, but if I did, this is what I would carry:Bic disposable razor (single blade style)Shaving oil -- I've used King of Shaves, and repackage in a smaller dropper bottleAMK signal mirror

Process: Heat some water to your preferred shaving temperature, splash it on your face, or use your bandanna to soak your face. Squeeze some soap into the palm of your hand, with a tiny bit of water, then use your other hand to make a lather. Spread the lather on your beard. Dip the razor in the hot water, and have at it. When you're finished, rinse your face and razor with the remaining hot water.

You're done.

All the rest of your kit is just fun accessories, none of it is actually needed to shave.

I'm in a similar position as yourself. I really need to wetshave or my skin takes a turn for the worse. Regular cartridge razors and canned shaving cream don't do a good enough job to be viable as an alternative to me, and they're much more expensive over time than a safety/straight razor setup.

I bring a Dovo 5/8" straight razor in a half hollow grind, a leather strop, my Mayfair pure badger brush, and a small puck of sandalwood shaving soap.

I noticed you carry a few more bottles of pre-shave and after-shave products than I do. It is completely necessary that you use all of them? I find the normal hot/cold water routine with a nice shaving soap and brush to be enough for my skin.

Your safety razor probably weighs less than my straight, but I have to bring a strop so that's kind of a moot point.

I've heard bic double bladed razors can work well with a good quality shaving soap. They're much lighter than a safety, and can be purchased cheaply and in bulk.

Really if you need all that gear to ensure healthy skin you have minimal options.

First you could try cutting all your balms and creams in half. Take only 1oz or less of each if that will work for you. You could also couple this with shaving half as often (basically find out just how long you can routinely go without shaving before having skin problems).

Finally your mirror seems rather heavy. I'm sure you could find some small emergency signal mirrors for much less weight. IIRC there are some around 1 oz (I have a folding compass for 2oz that has a mirror plenty big enough to shave with). That may save you 7 or more oz, at least get you under a pound for your kit.

Remember that the best method for lightening your pack is to leave stuff behind, but if doing so will negatively impact your overall enjoyment it really isn't worth it.

Do you really need both a syptic pencil and an alum block or can you live with just one? DO you really need after shave balm since it's a "just in case" item instead of daily use? If yes, them forget the gram weenies and bask in your baby bottomed jowls!

I've got sensitive skin too but still use an electric razor and like Bob use a battery powered one sometimes. I've tried a few but this Panasonic one is the best that I have tried. It's got a trimmer also and I sometimes just use that. You can get a pretty decent shave using the trimmer and it will cut the hair rather than pulling it.

+1 Gillette Good News. Bics tear me up. Best to have a non new razor and a 1/4inch Styptic pencil for cuts.http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A3760901%2Ck%3AStyptic%20Pencil&page=1I use a soap high in Lanolin for a lubricant. Magno from Spain. Just a sliver.Hunters soap in bear country. An electric shaver in the car.No mirror. Shave by feeling or comments by my wife.And warm water -a back country luxury.

You can check out everything listed above at http://www.westcoastshaving.com (not affiliated with but have purchased from online store). Feel free to PM with any questions. Also, check out the razor blade sample packs from West Coast. Regards

There is a shaving oil you could check out. It's by Origins. Easy Slider or something like that. My buddy uses it daily. He just uses the oil, no shaving cream. And then carry a a gillette fusion pro glide.

Normally I don't shave when I'm out hiking, but in the past I used Williams shaving oil. You only need 3 drops of this stuff for a shave, which you can rub on with your hands. More than that will only make your razor blade dirty. One bottle of this stuff weighs about 0.6 oz.

Re: Shaving on the trail - Cut the weight almost in half!!!!!!!!
on 04/01/2012 21:28:27 MDT

Thanks for the great tips!!!

I experimented at home with some shaving oil and some bik plastic razors and ended up cutting my face to a bloody pulp so I came to the realization that it would not be a viable option on the trail.

I ended up using half of my syptic pencil and some quick clot from my first aid kit to get the bleeding under control. As I stood there feeling lightheaded staring at the bloody mess on my bathroom floor the syptic pencil that was now half it's original size caused a moment of serendipity.

I rushed downstairs to the basement and found my hacksaw. I cut most of the heavy handle off my heavy razor, cut the alum block in half, squeezed half the contents of the liquids out and plucked half the hairs out of my shaving brush. I now have the weight of my shave kit down to under a pound!!

I've been using shaving oil for 20 years now and won't go back to using anything else. It shaves so clean and without razor burns and uses so little oil each time that really nothing else compares. You can shave both with and without water using it, though without water will be a little rough. One small 36.8 ml bottle has lasted me more than a year. When I go hiking I use a bottle about 1/5 of that size. For the razor I use a Japanese, hand made aluminum, single blade disposable one similar to the ubiquitous Bic razor. Very light (I find the single blade razors shave better.) I use "Ultimate Shave" from http://ultimateshave.com

I used shave oil for a while before I started wet shaving. It works pretty good. I used pacific shaving company shave oil that is locally available here. 6-8 drops did the trick. I generally shaved in the shower with a bic single or at most double blade disposable.